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Searching for particle dark matter with eROSITA early data

Chingam Fong1,*, Kenny C. Y. Ng1,†, and Qishan Liu1,2,3,‡

  • *Contact author: fongchingam@link.cuhk.edu.hk
  • †Contact author: kcyng@phy.cuhk.edu.hk
  • ‡Contact author: qisliu@link.cuhk.edu.hk
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 083052 – Published 23 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/f2dq-hq2j

Abstract

Many well-motivated dark matter (DM) particle candidates can decay into detectable x-ray photons. We analyze the Final Equatorial Depth Survey data from eROSITA early data release to search for unidentified x-ray lines that could indicate DM signals. Having discovered no anomalous signal, we set limits on DM decay rate in the mass range between 1.8 and 18 keV and constrain the parameter space of two DM particles: sterile neutrino and axionlike particle. Finally, we also study the projected sensitivity of eROSITA full sky search, showing that the eROSITA all-sky survey is expected to set the most stringent limits in the soft x-ray band.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 083052– Published 23 October, 2025
  • Received 27 February 2024
  • Accepted 8 September 2025
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